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TDSB in dire need of overhaul

Come October, Toronto voters should not be so concerned with trying to turf our dysfunctional mayor that we forget to turf our even more dysfunctional school board trustees.

A $143 pencil sharpener at Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate in Scarborough - one of many controversial TDSB procurement decisions in recent years. (Moira Welsh)

By Charles Pascal

Mon., Aug. 4, 2014

While the mayor-led dysfunction at Toronto’s city hall has attracted undesirable global attention, odds are that the looming election will yield a positive change. But Toronto voters need to reserve a good measure of electoral energy in order to ensure that the even more dysfunctional Toronto District School Board is also pushed to a badly needed sea change. Way too many of the existing trustees are part of the problem. The reign of error at Canada’s largest school board must come to an end.

The TDSB’s crisis in governance has been marked by a steady drip of errors of judgment, mismanagement, internecine warfare and a gross neglect of the basics of accountability and conflict of interest.

The last few years have seen cliques of TDSB trustees fighting each other for power without apparent consideration of the purpose of that power. When the Star published reports about the TDSB’s gross financial negligence in procurement fiascos that cost taxpayers thousands upon thousands of dollars — a problem that seems to persist — the former director, Chris Spence, said “the buck stops with me.” The problem was so incredibly serious, why didn’t the board fire him for mismanagement? Instead, it waited until charges of plagiarism made the long-desirable outcome unavoidable.

And how is it that contracts signed with international interests in China and Vietnam seem to have surprised trustees? Why didn’t the senior administration step in to insist this was a matter for board consideration? Perhaps they were they afraid to.

Are there still trustees walking into schools in their ward as though they are “in charge”? What about the recent conflict of interest case involving former chair Chris Bolton and the apparent cover-up by at least one trustee?

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So much is said about the notion that education is key for both individual and societal health and prosperity. Thanks to great teachers and many outstanding principals, good things are happening at the school level. But becoming the best we can be educationally requires that every single decision at the board level is informed by what is best for the relationships that count — teacher and student, teacher and parent, principal and community.

There is no compelling evidence that the relationships at the TDSB level — trustee to trustee, trustees to staff — are healthy and consistently informed by the need to model the best of what we hope for at the grassroots level.

It is more than embarrassing. It is a crisis. I recently chatted with several people who wish to run for trustee for the first time. I, like many of their friends, asked, “Why on Earth would you take this on?” I was greeted with answers I craved: “contribute to something larger than my own ideas;” “focus on what’s best for students, teachers and the community;” “people are tired of the current board’s fiefdom behaviour and lack of respect for each other and staff;” “enough talk about transparency and accountability, action is what counts.”

Over time, too many trustees focus on seeking “higher” office, passing through the school board level rather than appreciating that the very word “trustee” connotes a special opportunity and privilege to promote some common good where it counts the most.

I wish I could say that TDSB stands alone in its puddle of dysfunction; but while it might be the head of a small classless class, there are too many effective boards in Ontario to consider the sort of independent commission to lead education in Ontario many have called for.

A new mayor can make a big difference, along with the many capable incumbent counsellors. At TDSB, the trustees elect their leader and way too many of them share the responsibility for not forcing serious issues into the spotlight. Too many culprits, too many bystanders without the courage to overcome the fear of reprisal from others around the table.

So when it comes to selecting TDSB trustees, incumbents need to be asked in clear terms, “What did you do when … ?” Just insert the issue of your choice and prepare to hear a lot of excuses. It’s big broom time for the TDSB board table.

Charles Pascal is a former Ontario deputy minister of education and professor at OISE/University of Toronto.

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